Rocco Steele Explains Why He Became an Adult Performer After 40 – WATCH

Rocco Steele has only been a gay adult performer for the past two years, yet in that short time he’s amassed a large following of fans. And while Steele possesses certain attributes that you might expect of a gay adult film star, his journey to become an adult performer has been anything but ordinary.

In an interview with Gay Star News, Steele talks about why he got into adult entertainment in his 40s, his relationship to his body image, and the connection between working in adult entertainment and self-confidence.

Steele explains that he used to work in corporate America but wanted to start his own business. Working as an adult performer helped him raise money to start his own underwear line, 10seven. 

Steele also says that there are a lot of misconceptions about what it’s like to be a gay adult performer: “I think people think that it’s a lot of–like it’s nothing but hot sex. But it’s not true. It’s a lot of work. I can only count on maybe two fingers scenes that were actually not uncomfortable.”

Discussing body image and what he would say to someone who’s self-conscious about their appearances, Steele says, “You have to accept the things you cannot change. If there’s something about yourself that you really can change, set a plan and work towards it.” Of his own experience with insecurity as a performer he adds, “Coming into the [adult entertainment] industry at the age of almost 50 years old, I do not have the body that the 20-year-olds have. So there was a lot about myself I had to come to terms with very quickly.”

He also cautions against getting into adult entertainment to boost your confidence. “You need to find that validation from within before you seek it in [adult films] or whatever it is,” he says.

Watch Steele’s interview, below.

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Hillary Clinton, Tesla, Vince Foster, Sean Hayes, Xavier Dolan, Blake Shelton: NEWS

2016 ELECTION. State Department says Clinton violated rules in use of private server for emails. “At a minimum, Secretary Clinton should have surrendered all emails dealing with Department issues before leaving government service,” says an audit by the State Department Inspector General, obtained by NBC News. “Because she did not do so, she did not comply with the [State] Department’s policies that were implemented in accordance with the Federal Records Act.”

BREAKING: Clinton violated federal records rules through use of private email server, State Department audit finds t.co/S8J0iHL9xx

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 25, 2016

NEW MEXICO. Violence breaks out at Trump rally in Albuquerque. “Albuquerque Police, who later called the evening’s events a riot, said on Twitter that some protesters were throwing bottles and rocks at mounted officers. Damage was reported to the glass doors of the center.”

VINCE FOSTER. Wolf Blitzer rips Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson over Trump’s decision to resurrect tired story.

HOT DOGS. New bill would allow Californians to free them from cars: “…a new bill would give her another option, allowing Californians to smash car windows and break imperiled animals out of vehicles that are too hot or cold without facing a civil lawsuit.”

BROOKLYN. Police accused of changing stories about man’s beating at Gay Pride house party: “Jabbar Campbell was busted on trumped-up charges three years ago, when homophobic cops brutally beat him before a failed attempt to trash his reputation, his lawyer says. With Campbell now acquitted on all counts, the Daily News has learned the officers in his case provided testimony contradicting both their initial version of the arrest — and their fellow cops.”

GAWKER VS. Was billionaire Peter Thiel behind Hulk Hogan’s Gawker lawsuit? “For months, the Gawker Media owner and people around him had speculated that the pro wrestler had a wealthy backer footing the legal bill for his fight against Denton and Gawker, which had published an excerpt of a Hogan sex tape. And in recent weeks, Denton had been more specific — he believed that Thiel was the one pushing the case forward, according to people familiar with Denton’s thinking. Now Forbes says Denton is right.”

TESLA. Model S driver caught sleeping while car is on auto pilot. “Tesla’s Autopilot requires the driver to always monitor the vehicle and be ready to take control. If the system lacks data to continue to actively steer the vehicle safely, it will show an alert on the dashboard.”

FORT PECK. Native American tribal leaders implement bathroom policy mirroring NC: “With a majority vote in favor, the tribal executive board approved a policy Monday that requires people use the bathroom according to the gender on their birth certificate, not the gender they identify as.”

SOUTH KOREA. Court dismisses same-sex marriage appeal: “A South Korean court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by two male filmmakers to legally recognize their marriage, saying that same-sex marriage cannot be accepted without due “legislative” action. Kim Chokwangsu and Kim Seung-hwan tied the knot in a public wedding in September 2013 but are still seeking to get legal status as the country does not recognize same-sex marriages.”

XAVIER DOLAN. The director rips Cannes critics after the reception of his film Only the End of the World.

GIVING BIRTH. Sean Hayes on his kidney stone adventure:

MATT MCGORRY. Secure in his masculinity.

FIRST TIMES. Blake Shelton tries sushi.

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Seoul stud Mondo Grosso.

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See What Happens When Europeans Look Into the Eyes of Refugees for 4 Minutes: VIDEO

The first step to understanding someone’s story is to look them in the eyes, as Look Beyond Borders, this powerful new video about the European/refugee divide from Amnesty International, illustrates.

Writes the organization:

When talking about the problem of refugees, we use dehumanised language, which reduces human tragedy to numbers and statistics. But this suffering concerns real people, who – just like us – have families, loved ones, friends; their own stories, dreams, goals… Only when you sit down opposite a specific person and look into their eyes, you no longer see an anonymous refugee, one of the migrants, and notice the human before you, just like yourself – loving, suffering, dreaming…

20 years ago, psychologist Arthur Aron discovered that 4 minutes of looking into each other’s eyes can bring people closer. Using this discovery, we decided to carry out a simple experiment, during which refugees and Europeans sat opposite each other and looked into each other’s eyes. Clearly, it is most important to give each other time to better understand and get to know each other.

The experiment was conducted in Berlin: the city, which – first of all – is a symbol of overcoming the divisions, and secondly, seems to be the centre of the contemporary Europe. We wanted the movie created on the basis of the experiment to be as symbolic as possible – and to touch upon the general divisions between people.

The experiment participants were ordinary people. The situations were not staged; we wanted to get natural, spontaneous reactions. The people sitting opposite each other had not known each other before and saw each other for the first time during the experiment. What is important, the refugees mostly came from Syria and had not been living in Europe for longer than a year.

Watch:

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The Failed Scheme To Blame Charlotte’s LGBT Protections For HB2’s Consequences

HB2 supporters blamed Charlotte for passing LGBT protections; now the city’s being blamed for not repealing them too.

The post The Failed Scheme To Blame Charlotte’s LGBT Protections For HB2’s Consequences appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/05/25/3781719/charlotte-chamber-hb2/

HRC Attends 2016 General Conference of the United Methodist Church

Post submitted by Rev. Dr. Denise Donnell, HRC Senior Faith Organizer

Earlier this month, HRC attended the 2016 General Conference of the United Methodist Church. Every four years, the legislative branch of the United Methodist Church—the General Conference—meets to set church policy. It was expected that several issues pertaining to the LGBT community would be discussed, such as ordaining LGBT clergy and allowing clergy to officiate marriages for same-sex couples.

Church doctrine states that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teachings” and prohibits “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from serving as ministers.

Approximately 1,000 delegates (half lay leaders, half clergy) gathered to consider revisions to the Book of Resolutions, which makes pronouncements on social issues, and the Book of Discipline, which details church law. Over 1000 pieces of legislation had been carefully whittled down to 56 in order to make the matter manageable in the two weeks set aside for the assembly.

Amid protest and fears of schism over LGBT issues, the delegates decided to accept a course of action submitted by the Council of Bishops. This new way forward from the Council of Bishop includes the establishment of a special Commission to “develop a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph in their Book of Discipline regarding human sexuality.” If the Commission reaches a conclusion before the General Conference meets again in 2020, a special session will be called to handle this matter alone.

Matt Berryman, head of Reconciling Ministries Network, a Methodist LGBT advocacy group, said the commission plan “signals hope.”

In the meantime, the full Council of Bishops have agreed to work diligently to avoid further complaints, trials and harm in order that the Church may live in grace one with the other. While this is good news for the LGBT community, several questions remain unanswered. HRC is committed to keeping track of the progress of this Commission in the coming months and years.

The entire statement offered by the Council of Bishops can be found here.

For more information on how to become involved with HRC Arkansas, click here.  

For more information about the United Methodist Church and the LGBTQ community, click here.

People look to their faith as a source of guidance and inspiration – and LGBTQ people and our family and friends are no different. The HRC Religion and Faith Program is working to create a world where nobody is forced to choose between who they are, whom they love and what they believe. Learn more here.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-attends-2016-general-conference-of-the-united-methodist-church?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

PHOTOS: Matthew Ludwinski Slips Into Something Comfy To Work Up A Sweat

Using sports as inspiration for fashion is nothing new, especially in the world of men’s underwear. This style guide focuses on underwear designed to give that athletic appeal, while maintaining the fashion and function you’d expect from a great pair of undies. From varsity inspired piping, to field-ready color-blocking, these pairs are a win-win in our playbook.

For more information, visit The Underwear Expert.

Photo Credit: Jerrad Matthew

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Carjackers Use Grindr to Lure Victims: VIDEO

Police in San Bernardino, California have arrested two carjackers suspected of using Grindr to lure their victims, according to their news release:

Over the last two weeks deputies from the Victor Valley Sheriff Station have conducted two separate carjacking investigations. On both occasions the victim’s had blindly met the suspects using the dating application “Grindr.”

The first carjacking occurred May 15, 2016, near the intersection of Muskrat Avenue and Air Expressway in the City of Adelanto. During this investigation the suspect, identified as Steven Thomas, allegedly used a firearm to steal the victim’s vehicle and wallet. Thomas who had recently been paroled for possession of stolen property, was arrested by the Sheriff’s Specialized Enforcement Division in the City of Desert Hot Springs a few days after the incident.

The second carjacking occurred May 23, 2016, near Yates Rd and Ridgecrest Rd in Victorville.The suspect, identified as Allan Soto, allegedly stole the victim’s vehicle using force. Soto was located a few hours later and arrested with the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Departments Aviation Division. Both victims’ vehicles were recovered by deputies and returned to them.

Anyone with information about criminal or suspicious activity is encouraged to contact their local Sheriff Station or WE-TIP at 1-800-78CRIME (www.wetip.com) and can remain anonymous.

RELATED: Anti-Gay Priest Caught Sending Nude Photos on Grindr to Former Student

The Sheriff’s Department said “citizens are encouraged to be diligent and safe when using any type of social media dating applications.”

A Grindr representative had this to say:

“As part of both joining the app, and on our page, we educate users on best practices around safety. It’s important to have fun, but be smart and do it safely.”

It is not known if Thomas and Soto were working together. The vehicles were later returned to the victims.

Watch a report from a CBS affiliate:

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ISIS Stones Syrian Teenage Boy to Death for Homosexuality

Islamic State (ISIS) extremists have stoned to death a teenage boy accused of homosexuality.

Jamal Nassir al-Oujan, 15, was arrested in the Mayadin city of Deir ez-Zor province, Syria on charges of being gay on Saturday. The Sharia Court accused him of sodomy and sentenced him to death by stoning.

An eyewitness told ARA News:

“Al-Oujan was brutally stoned to death by IS militants in Jaradiq square in the Mayadin city on Monday afternoon. Also, some civilians were forced to participate in stoning the victim. The brutal scene has shocked all residents of Mayadin.”

RELATED: REPORT: ISIS Executes 4 Men in Iraq for Being Gay

Ahmed Ramadan, media activist and head of the campaign ‘Deir ez-Zor Is Being Slaughtered Silently’, said Islamic State “has violated all human rights by carrying out brutal atrocities against civilians, punishing people on baseless charges only to show off its power over unarmed, peaceful civilians.”

Rojava and Syria news: Islamic State executes Syrian teenager on charges of homosexuality t.co/ECmJSrO5ku

— Rojava news network (@PlanetRojava) May 23, 2016

In January, a 15-year-old boy was thrown from a roof in Deir ez-Zor after he was discovered engaged in a sexual act with an ISIS leader.

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First Gay Couple Married in Colombia: WATCH

Same-sex marriage has begun in Colombia and Fernando Quimbayo and José Ticora were the first to marry in the country, at a city registrar in Cali. El Pais published a story on the couple, along with a video.

The Washington Blade reports:

The court in 2011 ruled that same-sex couples could register their relationships within two years if Colombian lawmakers did not extend to them the same benefits that heterosexuals receive through marriage.

Legislators subsequently defeated a same-sex marriage bill. A handful of same-sex couples have entered into so-called “solemn unions” since lawmakers since the court’s deadline passed in 2013.

Inspector General Alejandro Ordóñez Maldonado challenged the rulings that allowed them to legally register their relationships as marriages. Same-sex couples who have entered into “solemn unions” since 2013 are now considered married under Colombian law.

Watch:

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